In-Depth: Snaply vs Superwhisper | Comparison 2026

Giacomo Venier
Giacomo Venier2026-03-198 min read

Snaply and Superwhisper both market themselves as local-first AI dictation tools for Mac, but what that means in practice is very different for each. If you searched for Super Whisper or Super Wisper, this is the same product.
Superwhisper's local mode exists, but its best features require a paid plan and deliberate configuration. Snaply gives you genuinely excellent local dictation for free, out of the box, along with a broader suite of tools that go well beyond transcription.

  1. Superwhisper is a highly configurable dictation platform for Mac, Windows, iPhone, and iPad. It supports local and cloud voice models, multiple AI post-processing modes, file transcription, and speaker separation. Its strongest experience is on Apple Silicon Mac, but most of that strength requires the paid Pro plan.

  2. Snaply is a completely private, free AI dictation app for Mac, with state-of-the-art on-device transcription at no cost. It also uniquely ships a Writing Assistant, private local translation, and AI meeting notes, all on-device, all free.

Keep reading for the full breakdown.

How is Snaply different?

1. We're an all-in-one platform

Superwhisper is built around dictation and AI post-processing. It does that well, but it is still a single-purpose tool at its core. Once your words are on the screen, you leave Superwhisper behind and move to something else.

Snaply delivers top-tier local dictation for free and keeps going from there:

  • AI dictation for fast voice typing in any app
  • Writing Assistant for grammar fixes, email polishing, and custom AI rewrites on selected text
  • Translation for translating text on device with private local models, no cloud dependency required
  • Local history so you can review, recover, and replay anything you have dictated or rewritten
  • AI meeting notes built with the same local, private architecture

The result is a single product that handles your entire writing workflow: from first spoken word to polished, ready-to-send output, without routing any of it through a third party.

2. We are private by default, not just in the right configuration

This is where the products diverge most meaningfully.

Superwhisper can be private. On Apple Silicon Mac, with local voice models and local language models selected, it runs genuinely offline. That is a real advantage that many dictation tools cannot match. But there is a catch: getting there requires Pro, deliberate model selection, and some configuration. The free tier defaults to small, lower-accuracy models, and several flagship features, including realtime transcription and speaker separation, require cloud models no matter what plan you are on.

Snaply works the opposite way. Your audio never has to leave your device at all, not as a premium option, and not after you configure the right settings: just by default, from the moment you install it:

  • your audio stays on your machine
  • your transcribed text stays on your machine
  • your history and writing stays on your machine
  • your team's sensitive discussions never touch a third-party server by default

For most users that peace of mind matters. For teams in legal, healthcare, finance, or any regulated industry, it is the difference between a product that clears a security review and one that does not.

3. We offer a free tier forever for individuals and affordable pricing for organizations

Superwhisper's free plan gives you unlimited use of small AI models only. Local voice models, AI-powered modes, custom modes, custom vocabulary, and speaker separation are all gated behind Pro at $8.49/month. So if you want Superwhisper to run a high-quality local pipeline, the thing it is best known for, you are paying for it.

Snaply's free tier is a different proposition entirely:

  • Free for individuals, with no feature walls
  • State-of-the-art local models included: no upgrade required
  • Writing Assistant, translation, meeting notes, and history all included

For organizations, Snaply stays aggressive:

  • Teams start at $5 per seat per month
  • Enterprise starts at $12 per seat per month

You get better local accuracy, a broader product, and a lower cost, without asking users to configure their way to privacy.

Bottom line: Superwhisper is powerful and genuinely local-capable when properly configured on Pro. Snaply gives you better local accuracy out of the box, more workflow breadth, and everything for free, no plan upgrade, no model selection required.

Feature comparison

FeatureSnaplySuperwhisper
Platform
Primary operating model
Core processing location
Local and privateLocal-first with optional cloud
Offline dictation
Works without internet
Yes on Mac with Pro
Supported platforms
Desktop OS support
MacMac and Windows
Dictation
Dictate in any app
System-wide voice typing
Pure transcription mode
Raw dictation, no post-processing
Voice Mode
Realtime transcription
Live streaming text as you speak
Nova cloud models only
Custom vocabulary
Terms, names, and jargon
Snippets / text expansion
Trigger phrases that expand saved text
Dictation Controls
Language support
Documented dictation languages
26 languages100+ languages
Automatic language detection
Auto-detects spoken language
Explicit punctuation mode
Say 'comma', 'new paragraph', etc.
Recent transcription history
Built-in view of past dictations
Audio replay from history
Replay original recordings
Writing Assistant
Dedicated writing assistant
A dedicated surface for editing and rewriting
Grammar fixes and AI polishing
Fix grammar, polish tone, and rewrite with one click
Customize AI rewrite behavior
Set how the AI should rephrase your text
Transforms selected text in place
The app sees what text you select and transforms it
Dedicated translation workflow
Separate translation surface
Privacy and Teams
Private on-device dictation
Speech never leaves the device
Yes on Mac with Pro
Zero data access
Vendor cannot read your content
Zero data retention
No audio or text stored on servers
Cloud model support
Cloud AI integration option
Optional for specific workflows
Bring your own API keys
Connect your own AI provider keys
Use your own AI gateway
Route AI through your infrastructure
Team shared dictionary/snippets
Shared vocabulary and phrases
Teams, EnterpriseEnterprise
SSO / SAML
Enterprise identity login
EnterpriseEnterprise
Enterprise controls
Admin settings and rollout options
Teams, EnterpriseEnterprise

Pricing

Pricing is one of the sharpest differences between these two products.

For individuals

Snaply is completely free. Every feature ships without a paywall: AI dictation with state-of-the-art local models, Writing Assistant, local translation, AI meeting notes, and full history access. There are no word caps, no model tiers, and no upgrade prompts.

Superwhisper's free plan gives you dictation with small models only. You can try Pro features for 15 minutes of recording before the gate comes down. After that, the features most people care about: proper local voice models, AI modes, custom vocabulary, cost $8.49/month or $84.99/year. There is also a lifetime option at $249.99, which suits power users, but that is still a meaningful upfront cost for what Snaply gives you for nothing.

For teams and enterprise

Snaply is both more affordable and architecturally simpler to approve, which matters enormously when you are deploying to a team. Privacy-sensitive industries: pharma, banking, legal, healthcare, do not need to negotiate model configurations or policy exceptions. The local-first default does the work for them.

PlanSnaplySuperwhisper
Individual

Free: all features, all models

Small models free, then $8.49/mo for full access

Teams

$5/seat/mo (annual)

Enterprise and custom licensing

Enterprise

$12/seat/mo (annual)

Custom pricing

Enterprise solutions

For company-wide deployments, the architecture story matters as much as any feature checklist.

1. Private by default

Snaply's core dictation pipeline stays on device. Speech is not routed through our servers, and sensitive conversations (legal strategy, patient information, financial discussions, M&A detail) never leave the employee's machine by default. That is not a policy promise layered on top of a cloud-connected system; it is how the product is built.

Superwhisper can be configured to run privately on Mac, and the enterprise edition adds model access controls. But the baseline is a flexible system that supports cloud models, third-party API providers, and cloud-dependent features like realtime transcription. Teams that want the private path still need to actively choose and enforce it.

2. Full AI gateway support

Organizations that want cloud-assisted intelligence on top of local dictation can connect Snaply to their own AI infrastructure. Use your own model keys, route requests through approved providers, and keep full control over where inference happens. Start entirely local and layer in cloud capabilities for specific teams, without giving that control to a third party.

3. Windows support for enterprise deployments

Snaply's consumer product is Mac-first. For enterprise customers running their own AI models on their own infrastructure, we support Windows deployments as part of a custom engagement.

Superwhisper does ship Windows support on its standard plans, and that is a genuine advantage for mixed-device environments. It is worth noting, however, that Superwhisper's Windows edition is behind Mac in several areas: local language models are not yet supported on Windows, and features like realtime transcription and mouse shortcuts are unavailable.

4. Department-specific customization

Different teams have different voices. Sales reps write follow-ups, legal teams draft clauses, support agents log tickets. Snaply can be configured per department with dedicated AI modes, custom prompts, formatting rules, specialized vocabulary, and output structures that match how each team actually works, rather than presenting every employee with the same generic experience.

Who should choose Snaply

When should you choose Snaply?

  • Individuals on Mac: Snaply is free, fully featured, and gives you better local accuracy without having to configure a thing.
  • Mac-first teams: you get privacy, a writing assistant, translation, local history, and affordable seat pricing in one product, without a cloud dependency or a per-seat Pro license.
  • Privacy-sensitive industries: legal, healthcare, finance, and pharma teams get a product that is private by architecture, not by configuration.
  • Enterprises with data policies: the local-first default answers compliance questions before they are even raised.

When Superwhisper still makes sense

Superwhisper is the stronger fit in a few specific cases: if you need iPhone and iPad support alongside Mac, want file transcription or speaker separation for meeting workflows, or are comfortable tuning a flexible local-and-cloud model stack and willing to pay for Pro to unlock it. It is a serious product for power users. For most Mac-first buyers, though, Snaply delivers a better experience without the configuration overhead or the cost.

Frequently asked questions

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